Cricketers and mental health: Virat Kohli’s ton speaks beyond the talks

Virat Kohli ended his century drought of 1,020 days to become the newest member of an elite club of cricketers with hundreds in all three formats of the game. He played an unbeaten knock of 122 runs in 61 deliveries with the help of 12 fours and six maximums against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022 to reach the landmark.

This was his maiden ton in the T20ls and 71st in his international career so far. Kohli finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the continental tournament with 276 runs under his belt, five short of top-scorer Mohammad Rizwan.

Before heading into the Asia Cup, the right-handed batter had spoken about his mental health struggles. Last year saw Kohli step down as Test and T20I captain, while he was stripped off as ODI captain. He also relinquished the leadership duties of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL.

The former Indian captain was rested for the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours earlier and had to endure a bit of a rough run with the bat for months. Kohli further had to tolerate a vast amount of criticism due to his lean patch.

Before booming into the Asia Cup, Kohli opened his heart during a conversation with Star Sports. He admitted that it was the first time in 10 years that he didn’t touch his bat for a month. Kohli said:

“I came to the realization that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body is telling you to stop. Your mind is telling me to take a break and step back.”

The recently revealed men’s FTP 2023-27 has 138 bilateral games scheduled for the Men in Blue. In the current FTP cycle that runs between 2019 and 2023, India have been slated to play 158 bilateral matches, which discloses the factual workload.

Indian women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur is the latest cricketer to voice her opinion in support of the movement. Ahead of her side's white-ball series against England, Kaur expressed her views on the identical matter.

The Indian skipper went on to confess that even big players need a mental-skills coach. The Indian women's team had mental-health-conditioning coach Dr. Mugdha Bavare on the board when the side toured New Zealand, followed by the World Cup.

Kaur said that having Bavare with the team incredibly facilitated her individually and so did her teammates. The all-rounder had a more than decent run in the World Cup, scoring 318 runs, including a century against the West Indies. As for her much-discussed form with the bat, she stated:

“I spent a lot of time with Mugdha, and got positive results. I started performing again, getting those runs I really wanted to get."

Paddy Upton was brought into the Indian men’s setup as the mental-health-conditioning coach in July this year, while the women’s team will have to wait for the provision.

Kaur’s statements came after England’s Nat Sciver took a break from cricket ahead of the India series, taking her mental health into account.

Australia’s Meg Lanning too, a short time ago, announced an indefinite break from cricket following her side’s succesful run in the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Additionally, talking about the workload, England’s current Test captain Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket, saying the three formats were 'just unsustainable' for him.

He also took a break from cricket last year to take care of his mental health after suffering several panic attacks. Stokes recently opened up about coping with the issues and said that he takes anxiety medication every day to support the battle with mental health issues.

Not long ago, Stokes’s documentary ‘Phoenix from the Ashes’ was released on an online streaming platform – he said that he wanted it all in there – the good and not-so-good. The all-rounder hit a ton at Old Trafford versus South Africa in the second Test, the same day the documentary was released worldwide.

He picked up the Player of the Match for helping his side to victory. The century spoke, telling the world that there is nothing that cannot be overcome. Just like the pressure on Kohli to get that elusive century was a testament to the fact that mental health is for real.